HB 1463

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to a study of alternative energy
3resources; providing legislative findings; requiring the
4Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida to contract
5with a professional organization to study an alternative
6energy policy for the state and develop a renewable energy
7and economic development investment plan; setting forth
8the subjects to be studied by the contracting
9organization; requiring that the contracting organization
10submit a final report to the Governor, the President of
11the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
12Representatives by a specified date; providing an
13effective date.
14
15Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17     Section 1.  Strategy for promoting alternative energy
18resources.-
19     (1)(a)  The Legislature finds that the energy industry in
20the United States and throughout the industrialized world is
21moving toward the use of cleaner alternative energy sources,
22such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal, which reduce the
23emission of pollutants and carbon dioxide, as well as reduce
24dependence on imported fossil fuels. The Legislature also finds
25that other states have taken steps to hasten this shift to
26alternative energy sources, using a variety of incentives,
27regulations, and other policy tools to stimulate alternative
28energy resource activities for both environmental and economic
29reasons, principally job creation.
30     (b)  The Legislature finds that this state offers tax
31exemptions to buyers and owners of alternative energy equipment
32but other incentive programs in the state are fragmented and are
33mostly developed and implemented by local counties or private
34utilities. The Legislature finds that if an effective statewide
35alternative energy policy were implemented to encourage the
36adoption of alternative energy resources, the result could
37simultaneously increase the state's renewable energy generation
38capacity and create jobs for residents of this state.
39     (2)  As a part of the efforts to design an effective
40alternative energy resource policy for the state, the
41Legislature intends that, subject to available resources, the
42Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida shall contract with
43SRI International to study an alternative energy policy for the
44state and develop a renewable energy and economic development
45investment plan. For the study, SRI International shall:
46     (a)  Review all locally available literature, including SRI
47International's in-house research and databases, to lay out the
48range of alternative energy policy and program options, focusing
49on each option's relative merits and limitations.
50     (b)  Examine the alternative energy policies of other
51states or regions which encourage alternative energy use, and
52assess the policies or programs that are in place. In order to
53distinguish and examine the more effective policies, SRI
54International shall gather data on several benchmark states that
55exhibit best practices in alternative energy policy.
56     (c)  After identifying the different policy approaches used
57to promote alternative energy, evaluate the details of the
58approaches that have been the most successful for stimulating
59investment in and adoption of alternative energy resources.
60     (d)  Conduct interviews with stakeholders in the
61development of an alternative energy policy to discuss and
62solicit feedback regarding various policy and program options
63for an alternative energy policy.
64     (3)  SRI International shall submit a final report to the
65Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
66House of Representatives by January 15, 2011. The final report
67must include:
68     (a)  Summaries of the interviews.
69     (b)  An analysis of the alternative energy policies of the
70other states.
71     (c)  An analysis of the alternative energy policies of the
72State of Florida.
73     (d)  A description of the basic structure and optional
74parts of an alternative energy plan for use in this state.
75     (e)  An initial set of recommendations for consideration
76and implementation by the Governor and Legislature.
77
78The Legislature intends that the report recommend a set of well-
79designed, actionable, and appropriate policies based on SRI
80International's research to promote alternative energy and
81statewide job growth in this state. In particular, the
82recommendations should include whether incentive programs or
83regulatory requirements should be implemented and how such
84efforts can be integrated into existing alternative energy
85research being conducted at Florida universities.
86     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.